Executive in charge of Xbox suddenly leaves Microsoft, heads to Sonos

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Marc Whitten, chief product officer at Xbox, is leaving his long time executive role to become the chief product officer at Sonos, Microsoft announced on Monday.

Whitten was responsible for a lot of the Xbox's success, so it's certainly a loss. He was one of the main heads behind the launch of the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox. Whitten joined the Xbox team in 2000, where he also helped create Xbox Live, the powerful multiplayer architecture that has become a novelty of the Xbox ecosystem.

The departure of Whitten could be seen as a bit sudden, given the Xbox One and Microsoft's hit game Titanfall have been performing well on the market. But Whitten isn't the only executive to leave Microsoft in recent weeks, as Skype founder Tony Bates, marketing boss Tami Reller, and device boss Julie Larson-Green departed from the company.

The departures follow Steve Ballmer leaving his CEO position at Microsoft, and Satya Nadella taking over the role.

"I've had the pleasure of working with Marc for more than a decade and he has always led Xbox forward with a focus on our fans and delivering a platform that developers and creators can embrace to deliver incredible games and entertainment," Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Studios, said. "We wish Marc well, while looking forward to the next chapter of Xbox."

The remainder of the Xbox leadership team will remain intact and Whitten’s team will report to Terry Myerson, executive vice president that oversees the teams building the software platform and experiences for Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox.

Microsoft hasn't immediately named a successor to Whitten.

Sonos, a home music streaming company, hasn't detailed Whitten's exact duties at the company.